


Bad Decisions

by Casimir



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akira is a slut, Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Found Family, Killers for Hire Phantom Thieves, M/M, Masturbation, Phone Sex, Voice Kink, but only technically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:08:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24064831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Casimir/pseuds/Casimir
Summary: Joker: I’m gonna ride Iwai’s fat dick[Several people are typing]Tokyo as a city wasn’t that bad of a place to be, all things considered. Akira had moved there after his parents had passed away. He had a good job, went to school, and handled a lot of guns
Relationships: Iwai Munehisa/Kurusu Akira, Iwai Munehisa/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 32
Kudos: 208





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been sitting on this one for a little while. Definitely Alita inspired. (I enjoyed that movie, I remember reading the manga a really long time ago.)
> 
> Mmmmostly I just wanted to write about Akira and Iwai getting jiggy with it. There’s a little bit of plot, but it’s kinda just a sandbox to play in.

Akira adjusted the scope on his mask, focusing on the man slowly dodging away from them in the crowd. He could hear the rumble of Makoto’s bike over the din of chattering people and the whir of robotics, but she was too deep among the pedestrians to get there fast enough. The gun at his hip felt heavy today. The man they were chasing was cruel and deserved a swift take-down. A cat killer that had progressed to people. The city around them bustled; huge grey buildings covered in graffiti and advertising rose around them like towering giants. A series of interconnecting train tracks ran overhead, running constantly as they shuttled people to their destinations, so dense that you could hardly see the dark sky above. Stars were hard to come by nowadays.

“Noir. He’s on you today.” Akira muttered before breaking into a run.

The crowd parted around him like the sea. Everyone knew to avoid the Phantom Thieves on a hunt. His blood red gloves stood out like a blemish, his vicious grin a signal to move- or die. Akira would never kill an innocent person, but the masses didn’t know that. They only knew him as Joker. Leader of a band of bounty hunters, thugs and mercenaries, that hunted people for sport and money. Everyone had heard the rumors. That Joker stained his gloves with the blood of those he hunted. That he hid horrific scars underneath their soft leather. Every tale was different.

“I see you, Joker.” Haru’s chipper voice sang over their comms. The UI in his mask flashed green around her form where she was hiding in an alley, showing Akira where to herd their prey. “Coming in hot!”

He dashed to the side, easily keeping up with the killer despite his entirely human legs, and the man swung a hard right- straight into Haru’s axe. Her gleeful laughter echoed down the cramped alley. One, two, swings and the severed head rolled pitifully sideways. There was an expression of sheer terror on his face. Anyone would have looked that way when encountering one of their cutest members. ‘Noir’ had quite the cult following for being a complete savage with her axes, yet seemed to have the sweetest personality.

“Well done Noir.” Said Makoto as she got closer. It was a little more difficult to navigate crowds while riding Johanna, but she was indispensable in road chases.

“Aw, I didn’t get to do anything!”

Akira chuckled at Ryuji’s loud complaint. The man was always spoiling for a fight, sometimes even letting his temper get the better of him with their Shadows. “He was too easy. Next time, Skull.”

“You better promise me that. C’mon, let’s drop off this idiot and head back.”

—

Their hideout was, in all honesty, just the attic of a quiet little cafe. A family friend had taken in Akira after the death of his parents and he’d been living up there ever since. It had only been natural after the formation of the Phantom Thieves for the group to gravitate there- especially considering that Akira would rather stay in bed until noon on the best day and sometimes had to be dragged out by the ankles. That was usually Futaba’s job. The four that had gone out on their latest job collapsed onto the couch and bed with a chorus of groans. They’d ditched the hardlight disguises on the way back and now appeared to be regular college students.

“I never want to get off of this bed ever again.” Ryuji grumbled. Though he hadn’t been in the final fray he’d done his fair share of the legwork in hunting the man down. His prosthetic leg whirred, seemingly in sympathy.

“You’ll make it hard for me to sleep.” Said Akira, one arm slung over his face. “If you get kicked it’s your own fault.”

The girls laughed, prompting even further grumbling from Ryuji. Eventually, though, he had to sit up. “Alright, alright. I’m going or I’m gonna catch flack from my ma for being late again. Sucks. By day we kick all kinds of ass and by night I’m finishing my damn homework.”

“At least you’re doing it!” Makoto called after him as Ryuji headed for the stairs down. “I don’t want to hear you failed again!”

“Yes, Queen!” He shouted back, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

A little while later, after the girls had gone home too, Akira was laying back and relaxing when Morgana hopped through the open window and landed heavily on his chest. He groaned in pain as the little android cat bounced off of him.

“Oh, sorry. Did that hurt?” He said, the look in his eyes and playful voice making it expressly clear to Akira that he felt no actual remorse.

“Welcome back.” Akira grunted, pulling the thin bed sheets over himself again. “Anything good?”

Morgana was a shockingly realistic android that Futaba had designed and built during their first few days as Phantom Thieves. Mostly he did his own thing but had a natural talent for breaking and entering- after all, no one looked twice at a cat strolling down the street. The AI inside was a marvel. If Akira hadn’t seen the cat being built, he would have sworn that he’d been born. He shook himself off from the drizzle that had started some time in the evening before talking.

“A couple of requests just got posted but they’re not too big. Petty theft and someone peeping in the girl’s bathhouse.”

Akira flicked through his phone, making sure the payment for that day’s hunt had gone through, before sending off the other’s share of the money. The Thieves split the bounties equally. It had been part of the rules when he’d started the group. No one would be left behind on his watch, and everyone pulled their weight.

“No decent bounties then? We’ll keep an eye out for now.”

The phone in his hand buzzed and he flicked over to their group chat. Ryuji must have made it home safely. He was chatting away about a new gun store that had opened up deeper in the city. The further you got into the bowels, the more infested the city became. Directly underneath the shining lights of Tokyo’s 1% was the seedy underbelly that existed in any city. And, deep in there, was Ryuji’s newest find.

Skull: Want to check it out w/me tomorrow?

Joker: sure

They could never have too many weapons. His desk was littered with pieces of modified weaponry, knives, lockpicks, smoke bombs. An arsenal of equipment for the Phantom Thieves. Morgana had settled down at the end of the bed to recharge, so he closed the window with a soft click. Tomorrow was another day.

—-

Untouchable.

The store’s name made Akira laugh behind his hand. His fake glasses glittered in the artificial morning sunlight. Ryuji was already ahead of him, Morgana perched on his shoulders, and calling a loud greeting to the shopkeeper. (They rarely got along. Morgana just liked using people as a taxi.) The door had a small bell above it that chimed happily as Akira pushed the door open. The inside of the shop was decked out in so much stuff that Akira thought he was in heaven at the sight. Ryuji was giving him a look that said he could see his eyes practically sparkling.

“You see something you like?” The man behind the counter asked, grumbling around the lollipop stick in his mouth. Probably an ex smoker with an oral fixation.

A turn of phrase like that was practically a gift from the gods. Akira leant forwards, elbows on the table, and batted his eyelashes at the ruggedly handsome shopkeeper. “I do, but I don’t even know his name yet.”

“And you won’t get to, if you keep that up. Buy something or get out.” The man grunted, reclining in his beat up office chair and away from Akira’s questing fingers.

He resisted the urge to snatch the lollipop from between the gruff shop keeper’s teeth. Instead, Akira swiveled on his heel and began grabbing from the shelves around them. Haru needed new gunpowder, Yusuke was running short on shells and would definitely appreciate that whetstone, Makoto’s brass knuckles were looking a little dull lately- was that a decommissioned android body in the corner-

“Hey!”

Ah. He’d gotten carried away again. Akira glanced down at the piles of stuff in his arms, then retracted his hand from the dead android’s circuitry. It might be a bit difficult to carry all of this stuff home without arousing suspicion. Each of the Phantom Thieves was registered for weaponry (except for Morgana, who didn’t technically exist), so they were free to purchase and use whatever they saw fit.

“I also need to see an ID and license before you take any of that.”

Akira deposited his finds on the countertop gently before producing both cards with a flourish. In the corner, Ryuji rolled his eyes. He’d gotten pretty used to Akira’s theatrics and eccentricities over the years they’d known each other. Pens twirled around his fingers, coins flicked into the air as they walked without a second thought. He favored knives which allowed him to get up close and personal with his prey.

“I never did get your name.” Akira winked, all but hauling himself up on the table with one leg over the other. His tight leather pants left little to the imagination.

Appearing quite unruffled, Iwai introduced himself. He had quite the in depth knowledge of his equipment- definitely something Akira admired. They spent a long time talking about customization together, to the point where Ryuji began threatening to drag him from the store.

Reluctantly, at least on Akira’s part, they left the store with heavy bags and new tactics to mull over together.

“So,” Akira muttered, flicking his way through his phone, “how did you find that guy again?”

“You mean Untouchable?”

“Nnn- Yes. Yes.”

Ryuji squinted at him. His backpack clanked ominously as they wound down the darkened streets together. “Passed by it, lookin’ for a mark last week. Why?”

“Mmm. No reason.”

—-

**Joker: I’m gonna ride Iwai’s fat dick.**   
**Panther: Cockslut Akira rides again!**   
**Oracle: Nasty.**   
**Queen: Which one is Iwai?**   
**Skull: That gun shop owner I told you about.**   
**Oracle: Extra nasty! Get us all discounts!**   
**Joker: I don’t know where you guys are coming from with this.**   
**This is all lies and slander.**   
**I’m the most pure, innocent man alive.**   
**Panther: Remember Mishima?**   
**Joker: He started that.**   
**Panther: What about Ryuji?**   
**Joker: That was an amicable breakup.**   
**Panther: Yusuke?**   
**Fox: Yes?**   
**Panther: No, I mean, didn’t he sleep with you too?**   
**Fox: Yes, it was quite enjoyable.**   
**Joker: Yusuke is a very beautiful man!**   
**Noir: Face it, Akira-kun. You’re kind of a cockslut.**   
**Joker: Et tu, Haru?**

—-

Their next mark came a few days later, pinging Morgana’s radar hard as Joker was serving coffee to an unsuspecting customer. He leapt onto the countertop between them and yowled like someone had stepped on his tail.

“Akira-kun, is this your cat?” Asked the customer as Morgana smacked at his hands. “He’s very...friendly.”

“Yeah. Sorry about him.” Akira ushered the cat from the table. “I should go see what he wants.”

“I guess I’ll head out and leave you to it then.”

With the single customer gone- Le Blanc was never busy- Morgana perched on the seat opposite him. “We have a new target, Joker. A stalker who murdered his ex girlfriend.”

“On it.” Joker wore a device around his wrist that had many handy functions. Grappling hook, communicator. A watch. He flicked the closed sign around on the door as he locked up. “Oracle, any leads?”

“Already on it, Joker. Sending you his coordinates now. Skull and Fox are on route already.”

“You’re the best. It’s showtime.”

As he dashed through the city streets, Joker thought of when the Phantom Thieves became a group for the first time. A quick leap upwards took him onto the close knit balconies above him. He’d met Ryuji a few years ago. The boy had dropped out of school after an incident with his teacher, forcing him to disappear into the slums that Joker called home. Ryuji had been looking for work and had introduced him to Ann. She was facing a similar issue with the very same teacher.

_“She killed herself.”_

_“What?! Who?”_

_“Shiho. Kamoshida did something...I’m going to kill him…”_

The next time they saw Ann was as she strangled the man to death in his home with a belt wrapped tightly around his neck from behind. After giving her a moment to get redressed, they hauled Kamoshida’s body up and hooked the belt to the ceiling. Akira flexed his forgery muscles and wrote a suicide note in his name. The media had been all over that one for a little while. Ann’s newfound bloodlust had inspired the formation of their group. Akira had been enjoying life as a bounty hunter for a little while already, having moved to Tokyo for the higher bounty rate, and happily included them in his plans.

“Joker, swing right. Noir is beneath you in plainclothes. Noir, swap out for Panther two blocks from here.”

Futaba was a fantastic navigator. Joker couldn’t help the grin that slid across his face as he caught sight of Panther’s twin pigtails bobbing and weaving through people below. He almost considered it part of his disguise, part of the persona of Joker. The rictus grin on his face even as he stared down the barrels of his prey’s guns. Something instinctive inside him hungered for the fight.

The mark seemed to have noticed he was being followed, judging by the nervous glances back and forth between the alleyways around him. But he hadn’t seen Joker, who was crouched amongst the sun bleached drapery that hung between the buildings. All of a sudden the man darted to the side. He disappeared into the closest alley, scrambling over the trash and junk in his mad attempt to escape.

“Stay there, Panther, Oracle will find you the way around the buildings- we don’t want him to see your face.”

“Understood, Joker.”

He gave chase, leaping onto the balcony over the other side of the street- the densely packed buildings often worked in his favour, not to mention the hardlight disguise increasing his abilities- and down into the alley. The man yelped in fear as he saw Joker’s sudden drop in front of him.

Similar to the way Madarame sobbed as Fox ran him through with a short, ritual blade.

Speaking of Fox, he and Skull appeared at the entrance opposite them. They walked forwards slowly. Dangerously. Skull rolled his shoulder as he approached, nearly dragging the spiked bat he was carrying along the paved floor. He laughed, dark and dirty, as the man desperately tried to decide which direction to escape in. Two enemies, one wielding a bat and the other a sword, and Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

“I’m innocent!” He shrieked, pulling a short knife from the inside of his coat and waving it between the three of them. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Oh sure,” Skull said, rolling his eyes. “Threatenin’ us with that knife is a great way to convince us.”

“Indeed. You have already been deemed guilty. The bounty on your head is proof enough.”

Joker’s gunshot rang through the alley, the bullet sparking as it forced the knife from the man’s shaky hands. The blade fell to the floor with a clatter.

“I didn’t...I didn’t mean to kill her!” There were tears in his eyes. He had dropped to the floor; scrambling, begging for his life, begging for mercy. “It was an accident!”

“Save it.” Joker growled.

The flash of Fox’s blade was the last thing the man saw.


	2. Chapter 2

Deeper into the slums was the building in charge of dispatch and collections for the bounty hunters of the third level. It was all grey stone and glimmering steel, guarded on both sides of the doors by giant suits of mechanical armour. There were staff inside the suits, as well as the receptionist and various other employees that milled about the building. Still in their disguises, the Phantom Thieves easily sauntered up the steps of dispatch to drop off their mark’s body. There was a series of glass tubes around the edges of the main building where they dropped him off unceremoniously. The technology inside the tube whirred as it checked the identity against their database, and, with a pleasant ding, the corpse dropped away.

“Well, that was simple.” Said Fox. “Are there any other immediate threats?”

Joker checked the computer screens nearby. They were embedded into the walls around them and were the easiest method to check updated hit lists. Unless you had an android cat that was directly hooked into the database. Pages flashed by under Joker’s red-gloved fingers.

“Nothing spectacular.”

The Phantom Thieves were outliers in the realm of bounty hunting. Tokyo’s underbelly was a lawless wasteland at the best of times and an actual, functioning group was rarely heard of. A few others had tried after their rise to popularity, but, almost every time, they would fall apart to infighting. Throughout everything, the Phantom Thieves remained friends.

Joker’s phone beeped to signal the payment had gone through. “Why don’t we get drinks somewhere? Chill out for a bit.”

“Sounds like a party to me!” Skull pumped his fist in the air, already taking off down the steps before the others had had a chance to follow.

Away from prying eyes and cameras, they shed their disguises and headed into the city proper. They rode one of the giant, glass walled elevators that took them to the second level. Yusuke would often stand with his face pressed up against the barrier in order to watch the third level’s skyline fall away underneath them. The neon lights around them lit up their solo ascent. If there had been anyone with them, they would surely have been backed up against the other side of the elevator. To the unaware Ryuji exuded a thug-like air and his glowering, angry, constant glare did nothing to change that. Akira couldn’t even wrap both hands around one of his arms all the way-

But he was getting distracted. The elevator only travelled between the lower, third level and the second. When it let them out the girls were already waiting for them. And with the group together they were finally ready for a night out on the town. They all had their favourite hangouts and bars and one by one the Phantom Thieves travelled between them. Ryuji’s favourite was an underground bar lit up by an old fashioned jukebox and half naked, holographic women tucked into cubbies on the walls. Yusuke’s was an artsy place full of fancy cocktails and glittering lights. The only place that served Haru’s favourite drink was a dive bar populated entirely by older men with handlebar moustaches. Even Makoto had her favourite, a popular place that served their drinks with little red umbrellas and pounding techno music in the background. By the time they reached Akira’s— a drag club he used to part time at— the entire group were quite pleasantly sloshed.

“Akira- Akira seriously.” Ann hung off of his shoulders, pouting quite seriously as the alcohol settled in and made her ears turn red at the tips. “If you gotta...If you date the gun guy. I need...I need my next SMG to be...to be pink. Okay? It’s gotta be pink.”

He nodded enthusiastically. The idea of Panther with a pink SMG made complete sense to him. In fact everyone should have pretty, custom gear he thought. There was a burst of raucous laughter ahead of them where Ryuji was excitedly lifting a traffic cone from the street and attempted to jam it on top of Yusuke's head. Futaba was egging him on in the way only she could. Between the two of them they were a force of destruction on the town. He had to run to catch up, or they'd walk too fast and get away from him and Ann…

When Akira awoke the next morning there were some conspicuously absent blanks in his memory. He wasn't hungover-- he was too young and had too good of a metabolism for that. But the alcohol had definitely left it's mark. There was a phone number scribbled in sharpie on his forearm and a trail of clothes leaving a passage of destruction to his bed. The sun was streaming in far too brightly for so early in the day. Akira groaned and pulled the blankets over his head.

"Finally awake?" Morgana asked, his tiny head pushing up against his hand. "You slept like the dead."

“I feel like the dead.” His throat ached when he spoke. He’d probably shouted himself hoarse at some point in the night.

Akira pushed himself off of the shitty mattress, dressed himself, and stumbled downstairs to the cafe’s small bathroom. He attempted to fix the mess that was his hair and scrubbed the stranger’s number from his arm. When he left, Morgana was perched outside the door waiting for him. The cafe was quiet. Even for so late in the afternoon it didn’t get too much business. Behind the counter, Sojiro was reading the day’s newspaper. He glanced up when Akira left the bathroom but went back to reading quietly.

“Good afternoon.” He said, flipping a page over. “Finally awake, I see.”

Akira grinned. “Sorry about that. Late night.”

“There weren't any major hits posted, spent a night out with everyone?”

Of course Sojiro had his finger on the pulse of the city. It had been surprising to find out that he was an ex-bounty hunter, but at the same time it answered so many questions that Akira had had about him. And brought up more even after that. Like how he knew his parents.

“Yup. We wanted to blow off some steam.”

Sojiro nodded in reply. “Just try not to stand out too much.”

With a small salute, Akira left the cafe. The city bustled around him. He dodged a couple of pedestrians who were determinedly striding past with their heads down, ducked under the arms of an exo-suit carrying a steel girder and made his way to the train station. Morgana trotted next to him. It wasn’t unusual to see animals around the city, especially ones following people. It was usually assumed they were cybernetic in some way— so no one even batted an eye when he leapt onto Akira’s shoulders when they reached the train.

“What’s the plan today?” He muttered into Akira’s ear, tail whipping slowly back and forth.

“Ann had a request last night, so I wanted to see how feasible it is. Well. She can’t have a totally pink gun but I can see what Iwai can do.”

“Someone will figure out who she is if she carries around a pink gun!” Morgana admonished. His tail flicked painfully against the side of Akira’s face.

“I know that!” Akira shook his shoulders, threatening to throw Morgana off of them. “That’s why I’m going to talk to him.”

The third ring of Shibuya was uncomfortably busy sometimes. Akira hadn’t gotten used to it for a long time, but now he couldn’t imagine living without the constant background hum of humanity. He pushed through the crowds— pockets of people gathered around the edges chatting while others surged forwards— until he finally reached the main street where Untouchable was hidden. Iwai glanced up when the bell rang. They were alone.

“You again.”

“You remembered me!” Akira laughed, draping himself over the countertop again. “I’m so flattered.”

“Don’t be, you’re one of the weird ones.”

“That’s okay. I know I’m unforgettable.” He let the Joker smile bleed into his grin and swiped his tongue over his lower lip. Akira didn’t miss the way Iwai’s eyes darted towards the movement. Hooked. “I have a request.”

Iwai’s eyes narrowed. The lolly he was chewing on clicked against the back of his teeth as he leant back against his chair and out of Akira’s personal space. “What do you have in mind?”

The plan was indeed for a pink weapon for Ann, just not the gun that she had asked him for. Since many of their weapons were made out of the same hardlight technology as their disguises it meant that they could be more portable than toting around an entire actual battle axe.

“A pink grip and a way to burn things?”

“She likes pink.” Akira explained with a shrug. He had no reason to lie to Iwai about his job, the sheer fact that he had a license for weapons pointed towards his being a mercenary, but it was dangerous for Iwai to know their exact group. The man wouldn’t ask either. “So long as the DNA on the hit matches up, it doesn’t matter how they die.”

“Fine, but it’s going to take a little while to work out the details.”

Iwai was about to say something else, a mischievous smirk at the corner of his lips, when the bell to the door rang again. Immediately he shut up but the smirk darkened with frustration. There was a young boy in the doorway, holding out a brown paper bag.

“Kaoru.” Iwai grunted. “What are you doing here?”

“You forgot this, again!” He said, shaking the bag. The boy didn’t seem to want to take more than two steps into the building and when Iwai stood to retrieve it he shrunk away.

“Thanks. Now get out of here before someone sees you.”

Akira had retreated to a wall at the back of the shop and was pretending really hard that he wasn’t paying rapt attention to their conversation. When the door shut, he turned around again with an innocent looking smile— only to be shoved up against the wall by one of Iwai’s huge hands fisted in his shirt. The weaponry behind the glass panel shook as his body hit it.

“You are going to keep very quiet about him, understood?” Iwai’s voice was the lowest growl Akira had ever heard from the man.

“Your son?”

Iwai shook him again, his other hand slamming against the glass next to his head. “I’m warning you.”

“Hey, hey, woah.” Gently, Akira raised his hands. “I wouldn’t jeopardize my relationship with the best weapons dealer in Tokyo.”

With his eyes still narrowed in suspicion, Iwai slowly released Akira’s shirt. He was still uncomfortably close for someone that could probably knock him out if he wanted to. “Yeah, he’s my son. I don’t like it when he comes around because there’s brats like you here all the time.”

“How rude!” Akira said playfully, putting one of his raised hands over his heart in mock offense. “I’m a pure ray of sunshine.”

Instead of replying Iwai just rolled his eyes and stepped away from where he was corralling Akira against the wall. He had to pull his hat off to run his hand through his short cropped hair. “He’s about your age. We’re not exactly...close.” The chair behind the counter squeaked under Iwai’s weight when he dropped back into it. 

With a quiet hum of understanding, Akira hopped back onto the counter. “Just because you’re not close it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. He did bring you lunch.”

The older man looked like he wanted to shove Akira off but had thought better of it. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to get closer to him when I spend so much time here.” Iwai leant back in his chair with his arms behind his head.

“There’s a festival going on in the second ring next week, I can get you tickets?”

“Why would you do that?”

“Why not? You’ll owe me a favour.” Akira just smirked at his outright distrust.

“I don’t have anyone to watch the shop.”

“I’ll do it, we can call it a part time job!”

“Hell no.”

“Do you want to spend time with Kaoru or not?”

With a sigh Iwai dropped his arms, put his face in his hands and dragged them down. “Fine, it’s a deal kid.”

Akira grabbed Iwai’s hand and shook it with a triumphant laugh. He hadn’t intended on making a deal with the man that day but things were definitely going his way. As an added bonus, now that Iwai had let his guard down around him, Akira leant forward and snatched the lolly that was held loosely in his lips. He dodged Iwai’s grabbing hands and stuck it in his own mouth.

“Mmm. Strawberry.”

—-

**Joker:** Guess who got the hot guy’s phone number!!

**Skull:** I guess Akira!

The week passed by quickly, especially now that he had Iwai’s phone number. He tried to keep his aggressive flirting to a minimum but he could all but feel Iwai’s skeptical squinting through the phone. When the day came, he and Haru met Iwai and his son outside of Untouchable. The man had dressed casually, ditching the giant coat for short sleeves and a pair of baggy pants. He eyed Haru with the same distrust that he’d leveled at Akira when he’d first met him.

“Iwai, this is Haru. She’s the one that got you the tickets for today. She also volunteered to help out!”

Haru bowed shortly when he introduced her. “I’ve been very pleased with the quality of your work, Iwai-san. It was the least I could do!”

“Uh. You have?”

“Yes! The last axe you made for me has a fantastic balance to it.”

Iwai seemed a little dumbstruck at the thought. “Oh, you’re the axes.”

There was a short tug on Iwai’s shirt and he glanced over to Kaoru, who was shyly hiding behind him. “Dad we’re gonna be late!”

“Right, right. Well. Good luck you guys. Try not to burn the place down while we’re gone.”

Just as he had with Sojiro, Akira gave the other man a quick salute. They watched them stride off into the crowd for a moment before Akira unlocked Untouchable. ”Thanks for helping me out today, Haru. You’re better with this stuff than I am.”

“Nonsense! You’re our leader, you know what you’re doing too.” She flicked the light switch to the store on as they entered.

Iwai had left him a strongly worded letter with instructions as to how he was going to operate Untouchable while he was gone. It was more than just a couple of pages long, with heavily highlighted and underlined parts that Iwai had considered important. Akira settled behind the counter to skim it. With any luck it would be a quiet day.

—-

It was not a quiet day. At least not for Akira. Untouchable itself had been slow but steady, with a few customers that Akira recognized for being other bounty hunters— some people were far less secretive about their identities than others. When Iwai returned from the day out with his son, Akira had locked himself in the back room with Haru left at the main counter. She was upselling some poor, unsuspecting customer an awful lot of equipment that he  _ definitely  _ needed. Her words. Not his.

“Where’s the other one?” Iwai asked, unwrapping a fresh lolly.

“Ah- welcome back Iwai-san. Akira is in the back, finishing a phone call.”

Before she could stop him, Iwai was unlocking the door with his own keys.

“Oracle, I swear— do not even try and break that yet, I don’t care if you think you can do it without being noticed.” Akira paced back and forth, phone pressed to his ear. His voice was low and angry. It was a tone that Iwai hadn’t heard from him before. “Don’t give me that. Wait until someone is there with you. Seriously. Panther is on the way, you know she’s the best after me. Don’t do anything stupid.”

It was something Iwai knew he shouldn’t be listening in on. He knew those code names, but he wasn’t sure where from. Quietly he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. Haru had finished her sale and had her arms crossed as she watched him.

“Iwai-san. You must be aware that Akira trusts you.”

“Don’t know why, but yeah.”

“I highly suggest not breaking that trust.”

Iwai leant backwards, hands tucked into his pockets. “Are you threatening me, girly?”

“The rocket launchers are mine, too, Iwai-san.”

—-

The wind whipped through Joker’s hair. The sun roof of the van was thrown open, letting in the full force of the wind, and Noir was standing up through it with one of her favourite weapons perched on her shoulder. Queen’s bike roared next to them, keeping her speed matched with theirs. Joker had ordered her back and away from their prey.

“Target acquired, Joker.”

“You know what to do Noir.”

The man’s bike exploded. Shrapnel rained down on the empty road. With the target eliminated, Akira took his foot off of the accelerator. Their van was modified, with Morgana increasing the speed and power of it, and able to change its external appearance at Joker’s will. Right now it was an impressively bright red. Queen slowly approached the smoldering rubble that was once another bike.

“End of the road.” She said, flashing him a thumbs up.

—-

“Huh.” Iwai said, on the other side of the city, while he watched the news on his phone. “Can’t be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha sorry I’m taking a while to update this. I have like sssseven other unfinished fics in my google docs that have my attention at the same time because I’m trapped in adhd hell
> 
> Come shout at me on twitter yah @seraphcasimir


	3. Chapter 3

Yusuke was both at home on the third level and also a complete stranger to it. He dressed like he belonged on the first level-- bright colours, expensive fabrics-- but had been raised in what was little more than a shack on the third. Madarame would take him to galleries on the very highest floor and part of the con was keeping up appearances. By the time the Phantom Thieves had found him, Yusuke was practically wasting away.

They'd been asked to rescue him by a former pupil. She had lamented running away from Madarame's clutches, leaving Yusuke behind to fend for himself with a master that rarely bought food and would leave him locked outside like a dog. Akira had been grabbed by her while he was on the hunt and only his bleeding heart had stopped him from pushing aside the woman in the way. There was something desperate in her eyes. By the time they convinced Yusuke to help them investigate Madarame, she was long gone. Just another Jane Doe for the burial site. They'd discovered Sayuri when the man was out of the house. Oracle had dug up his finances and spending-- the hidden mistress's house on the first ring. After that, all they had to do was share the fact that Madarame was selling fake replicas to his buyers and wait for the hit to be posted.

And boy, was it a big one.

Akira could remember the way Yusuke's hands shook when they found him later. He hadn't been expecting the spray of blood from Madarame's neck. The small kitchen knife that he'd used was still sitting next to the cooling body. Akira held his hand out.

"We are the Phantom Thieves." He said, the domino mask activating and covering his body with Joker's long coat. "We can help you take over Madarame’s accounts, assets, everything. You’ll never have to see us again. Or you can join us and help us prevent this from happening to more people.”

Yusuke took his hand.

“Welcome aboard.”

—-

The school day was dragging out. Akira still had a few more classes before he’d be let loose and then after that it was part time job number three at Lala-chan’s bar. He wondered if he was stretching himself too thin. The Phantom Thieves, work, school, one after another. It was a wonder he hadn’t fallen asleep in any of his classes. Kawakami’s watchful eyes turned to him as he stifled a yawn. How she’d managed to figure out he was the leader of the Phantom Thieves, he wasn’t sure, but after that he’d managed to help her with this couple scamming her out of money.

Underneath his table, Morgana’s tail flicked back and forth. His mechanical eyes were unfocused and darted back and forth.

“Akira! Akira!” He hissed under his breath. “There’s a code S!”

Shit. _Shit!_ As quickly, but as subtly as he could, Akira slid his phone out of his pocket and next to Morgana. The cat had picked up a hit— and a big one at that.

**Joker:** Fox

Code S

Can you handle it?

 **Fox:** I have just received the details from Oracle.

I believe I can.

Either way Akira didn’t like that he was essentially sending Yusuke alone. “I think it’s time we tested the Big Brother Prototype, Morgana.” He muttered.

Morgana’s eyes narrowed and he nodded. He slunk from his hiding spot under the desk, to Akira’s feet, and dashed out of the window when Kawakami helpfully looked away. The guy in the desk behind Akira probably saw the weirdest shit. He was grateful that he seemed to know to keep his mouth shut.

**Oracle:** starting up the BB body!!

T_T my baby is gonna be all grown up

 **Joker:** Please don’t call the weird android version of me your baby

His screen flashed with a very threatening image of Futaba’s laughing avatar. Sometimes Akira forgot just how deep her fingers went in the technology around them. Taking over his phone was practically child’s play once she’d gotten her hands on it physically. Akira rapped his fingers against the desk. Kawakami had stopped her plausible deniability act and had turned back around to face the class. There was no way she couldn’t see the current of tension in Akira’s shoulders, in the way they were bunched up like a defense. His eyes kept darting to the outside. To the fence surrounding the school. To one of the towering metal anchors that kept the second ring aloft above them. It was just outside of the school’s perimeter, as wide around as one of the buildings that sprung up next to it.

**Joker:** Keep me updated?

**Oracle sent [IMG_403]**

It was a grainy screenshot of a security camera— probably one of the one’s from a business near where the mark had appeared. The city’s security cameras were a higher quality— showing Fox and what appeared to be Joker fencing in a man. Judging by the destroyed tables and chairs around them, he’d probably gotten desperate and started throwing them. Fox’s blade wasn’t going to be stopped by a wooden table though.

The next picture was a little closer up, taken from someone’s social media feed it looked like. There were little emoji hearts around Joker’s head. He had his foot pressed against the back of the mark’s hand where it scrabbled for a gun fallen nearby. Akira squinted at the picture a little closer. Morgana still hadn’t quite gotten his signature grin down but it was close enough.

A few months into when the Thieves had officially started, they’d missed out on a very large hit while the group had been at school. It had sent Futaba into an angry tailspin of robotics that ended with a half-finished human body in Sojiro’s living room. (He wasn’t a huge fan of it.) It had stayed there until recently, until after she’d finished Morgana and after Yusuke had joined. He was the only one of the group that no longer attended school after all. The option had been there for him to continue, but without Madarame’s patronage his funds would have quickly gotten tighter and tighter. The police had seized Madarame’s assets, not that Yusuke wanted anything to do with them, in light of him not having a will or living family.

Then, Akira’s phone buzzed. The mark had been delivered and the money deposited. That went easily enough.

—-

Another day, another job. Joker yawned. He put in his information as Skull dropped their latest target into the tube system, watched the man fall away, and turned to the person who was glaring prickling daggers into the back of his neck.

“You’re not being subtle, Crow.”

The other man didn't move from his spot. It seemed he'd just dropped off his own mark-- Akira didn't recognize him. Although he didn't have the database memorized in the same way Oracle did, he never recognized Crow's marks. Joker had concluded that he was a private killer-for-hire. That didn't stop it from being strange, however. Most other bounty hunters just referred to him as 'the black mask' but Joker had taken one look at the pointed, black helmet and called him Crow. It seemed to stick.

"Coming with us for drinks?" Joker asked. He always asked, but he always got the same reply.

"Fuck off, Joker." Crow turned on his heel and strode out of the building in the same angry huff he was always in.

"I dunno why you always try, man." Skull muttered, leaning on Joker's shoulder. "He's never gonna accept."

"Well it doesn't hurt to ask."

There were a few bars, dotted around the lower ring, that didn't ask questions. They didn't ask you to take off the hardlight disguise if you didn't want to. They served drinks strong enough to knock a bull elephant off of it's feet. He'd been trying to convince Crow to go to one since the first time they'd met, and not even in a lascivious way. Joker could just tell there was something strung out about the man. Like he was walking the fine line between snapping and losing himself. It was a dangerous place to be for a bounty hunter.

\---

Akira wanted to be mad. He wanted to be so mad that Futaba realized how much of a dumbass she could be once she got her attention on something-- not that that would ever happen. But he just couldn't bring himself to it. He folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her but when she span around in her chair and produced the perfectly copied document that her and Ann had stolen. Well. If his frown softened a little that was between the two of them.

"I can't believe you went ahead and stole physical documents on your own. Hacking is one thing, but this?"

"I wasn't on my own!" She protested, throwing herself backwards in the plush looking chair. "Ann was there too just like you told her to be."

"You started the whole thing on your own, she found you in the filing room."

Futaba stuck her tongue out at him. Her deft fingers flipped through the paperwork, pulled out a single sheet of her messy handwriting, and handed it over. "There. Proof he knew my mum."

With a put-upon sigh, Akira skimmed the file. Futaba's memory was amazing. She was able to copy out any documentation after reading it once. It was a list of employees, and, right there in the middle of the page: Wakaba Isshiki. Further down under that: Masayoshi Shido. The big target. The one they were all gunning for.

"That about lines up with what we thought. He probably had the rest of these employees killed too. I take it you already looked them up."

Futaba flashed him a peace sign. "Of course I did! Every single one is either dead or so far up the first level that it'd be just as improbable to get to them as Shido."

"Alright. We still need to find out what your mother was researching. At least one of these people should have slipped up somewhere…"

"Already working on it! The Alibaba program is cross checking them against every database in the city I've got my fingers in. It's gonna take a while. Akira! Fetch me some yakisoba!"

Akira dropped into a playful bow, one hand held underneath him and the other outstretched like a butler. "As you wish, madam."

She kicked him in the head.

Outside of the Sakura's apartment, Akira took a moment to watch the city from his vantage point. It was nice to be up high. He could see why the elite had made their homes up so close to the sky. The windows rattled as a train went past, rushing from one stop to the next as always. There were huge billboards across the rooves, lit up in glowing neon holograms, a gang of bikers roared across the road underneath, and the people kept moving and moving and moving.

Safe, inside the apartment building, Akira couldn't hear the screams. He could, however, hear the way the train that had just passed him began to careen off of the tracks. It was a deafening noise. He could only begin to imagine what it sounded like outside. It hadn't slowed down as it approached a tight corner and was tipping and tipping and tipping--

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that.

Most of the train fell away from the tracks, crashing devastatingly into the building the closest to it. Akira pressed himself against the window. There was smoke-- was the building itself on fire-- and dust and chunks of bricks falling from the damage into the street below. The train finally stopped shifting forwards, the mangled metal of the first few cars stopping just one more from falling completely.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how about that adhd huh
> 
> Doesn't write anything for months and now I can put out two chapters almost back to back :V
> 
> @seraphcasimir come bother me on Twitter I have hyperfixations to scream about  
> And cats


	4. Chapter 4

Akira's heart was in his throat.

He span around, fingers struggling to grip the keys he'd just put away. The Sakura's apartment seemed a hundred miles away in that moment more than ever before. The keys were stuck in each other, too many stupid keyrings too many stupid chains-- there!

"Futaba!"

She had her hands clamped over her headphones, knees drawn up tight to her chest. Akira lowered himself down next to the chair. Although she was shaking Futaba peeked through the little gap made by her knees. Her hand shot out and grabbed hold of his. For a moment he was glad she was the physically weakest of the Thieves because any of the others would have broken his fingers. With his other hand he fished out his phone.

**Joker:** Thieves, sound off.

Oracle is with me.

 **Queen:** Here, Joker.

 **Panther:** me too

whats up?

 **Skull:** I'm here too! Is this about that noise earlier?

 **Noir:** Mona-chan is with me.

 **Fox:** Present and accounted for, Joker

 **Joker:** You'll probably see it on the news in a bit.

There was a train crash near the apartment.

We're fine, just shaken up.

 **Panther:** a train crash???? thats impossible tho

Akira sighed quietly. His people were safe. None of them had been on the train. The trains had been running smoothly for years, with extremely rare delays,Queen: The driver would have had to have lost control. It's not in the realm of impossibility.

But.

But _never_ a derailing. It should have been impossible. They had to be maintained perfectly because they were raised above the lower level of the city. A shiver passed through Akira’s body. It had to be intentional. He sat with Futaba for a little while longer, watching the Thieves’ reactions as the news began to catch up on what had happened. Then his messenger app buzzed again.

**Gun daddy:** Hey.

Reply to this when you can.

It hadn’t been the first time Iwai had texted him out of the blue. Usually it was just him telling Akira he needed help at Untouchable, or asking him to drop off a package or something. Maybe he just needed his phone to go off.

**Akira:** What’s up?

 **Gun daddy:** Nothing.

Just checking in.

 **Akira:** Aw, are you worried about me?

I saw the train go down.

Wasn’t on it though.

He didn’t get a reply for a long while after that. Futaba eventually pulled herself out of her ball and wiped her face off with the long sleeves of her hoodie. With a quiet sniffle, she turned back to the computer.

“You didn’t get me my yakisoba yet.” She muttered. “I’ll forgive you though.”

**Gun daddy:** Come over, I’ve got something for you.

“He _was_ worried.”

“You should go see him. I’m good here.” Futaba’s eyes were a little red in the corners, but she was pouting angrily at the screen now. Her fingers were starting to fly over the keyboard once more. Now that the fear was leaving her system she seemed more determined than ever.

“Keep your head up, Oracle.”

—-

The bell above Untouchable’s door chimed gently when Akira pushed the door open. It was quiet, the shop closed for the day, and the lights were mostly all off. There was just Akira and Iwai, lit by the remaining strip lights. Akira stepped forwards. He leant against the counter, keeping his eyes locked on Iwai’s own dark brown ones. There was a smirk playing at the edges of Iwai’s mouth.

“You didn’t think something like a train crash would be enough to get me?” Akira asked, tugging the ever present lollipop from Iwai’s mouth. _This time_ the man didn’t fight it. ( _This time_ it was melon.)

“I should have known better than to be worried about a brat like you.” The older man pushed a box towards him. “That whip you ordered.”

It was definitely pink, with fine decorations around the edges that unfurled into delicate looking flowers. There was a switch on the hilt that, when pressed, let the main portion of the handle elongate and activate the hardlight whip. The stock whip was light and flexible in his hands. Akira was no master like Ann, who was able to hit the tiniest target with a flex of her arm, but it still made him feel as powerful as the knives he favoured. A second switch would activate the heat portion. Enough to burn flesh and cripple their prey.

“Thanks, Iwai-san.” Akira purred, flicking off the whip’s switch. It disappeared into a small enough hilt that Ann could hide it away easily.

Iwai tipped his hat, shadowing his face. “Sure, brat.”

In a beat, with Akira off guard, Iwai snatched the lollipop back. His mouth went dry when the older man put it back in his own. Like they'd just kissed through it. There was a mocking grin spreading over Iwai's face. He knew exactly what he was doing. Something hot and needy settled in Akira's stomach.

In a rare show of cowardice, he turned and fled.

—-

With the stress of the day over, Akira dropped backwards onto his rickety bed. He dragged his hands over his face and down his neck before throwing his arms out to the sides. It had been a while since he was completely alone above LeBlanc. Whether Morgana was in the room with him, someone was staying over, or the cafe itself was open for business. He kicked his shoes off into a dusty corner before pulling his clothes off and dumping them to the side in a similar manner. The gentle bite of the attic’s air chilled his naked skin.

Slowly he brought his hands up to his body, trailing his fingers down his chest and stomach-- down to his soft cock. Akira gently squeezed and tugged on the flesh in his hand. He wanted his hands to be bigger. Thicker fingers, sturdier hands, with rough skin from work. He wanted them to be Iwai's. Akira's other hand pressed against the space behind his balls. Up and in. It sent rumbles of pleasure up his spine. He let himself groan into the silent air and rolled his hips against his hand. His body began to react His cock was starting to feel heavy and full in his hand, pulsing gently with the surge of blood through it.

In Akira’s mind he could see Iwai. He imagined the larger man leaning over him, his broad shouldered body all but smothering Akira into the bed. Perhaps, Akira thought, he’d be covered in tattoos. He’d seen the tiny gecko on his neck. Akira ached to push his clothes off and explore the expanse of muscled skin that Iwai hid away with loose clothes. The lube was stashed underneath the bed, near the end where it had to be propped up on a milk crate, and away from Morgana’s prying cat paws.

Two slick fingers pressed inside himself. There was no teasing, just business, as he stretched himself open. Akira’s back arched against the bed. That needy feeling was back, making him clench down involuntarily around his own fingers. The hand on his cock moved faster— the skin around the head pushed the dribbling slick of precum around until it leaked down the back of his hand. Akira whimpered. He pressed a third finger inside, imagining it was Iwai himself and his thick cock spearing him open.

His body was trembling, moving without his realizing it, orgasm building closer and closer to the edge. Akira was on the precipice of it— cock twitching and throbbing in his hand as he rubbed the tight circle of his fingers around the plummy head. Suddenly— the phone, discarded on the bed next to him, began to ring. His tinny ringtone startled him out of his reverie and with a frustrated growl he pulled his fingers from himself.

Akira took a deep breath and reached for the device. He snarled at the bright screen lighting up the room and thumbed at the button to pick up the call.

“What is it?” He said, trying not to snap at the person on the other end.

“Just making sure you got home safe.”

Akira shuddered at the low, rough voice coming from his phone. He hadn’t realized that it was Iwai calling him. The light was too bright to focus on the name that had come up.

“Oh, yeah.” He mumbled, wet fingers snaking back down his body. There wasn’t any way for Iwai to _know_ if he got off a little bit to the other man over the phone. Just a little bit. “I’m home. I was getting ready for bed.”

“This early?” God Akira could listen to Iwai’s voice for hours. “I thought you’d be a night owl.”

“Only sometimes.” Did he sound breathy? He was back to three fingers working inside, the phone smushed up against his shoulder and his face, and it was taking all his self control not to moan. “What about you? Stay up late thinking about me?”

Akira could practically see Iwai’s mocking grin in his mind’s eye. “Only sometimes.” He shot back.

The only way to suppress the whimper building up in his throat was by shoving his fist in his mouth desperately. He gasped against it, crooking his fingers upwards to press against his favourite spot. It sent pulses of pleasure out from his core, up his spine, through his body— he was going to cum with just his fingers inside him and Iwai’s voice on the other line—

“Swing by and see me again tomorrow night, Akira.”

He whited out when the line went dead. Akira’s body shook through it. Starbursts exploded behind his eyes as he threw his head back and moaned loudly into the ball of his fist. Iwai’s name fell off of his tongue like a prayer. Distantly he could feel cum splatter against his lower stomach and settle there like a brand.

It was in drips and trickles that Akira came back to himself. He pulled his fingers free and stood on shaking legs to go wash up. The reflection in the mirror of LeBlanc’s bathroom made him look debauched. Although, he supposed, that was actually what he looked like. Bed messy hair pushed up in the back. Red, bitten lips. His face was flushed, with a faint sheen of sweat at the temples. Akira swallowed thickly. He hoped Iwai would be a fan of how he looked— fucked out and desperate.

Somehow, he knew he would be.

—-

“We’re not going to get involved with the cleanup.” Makoto said, making the decision for him. “None of us have anything to gain from it.”

Haru looked like she wanted to protest for a moment but thought twice about it. She had been on the side for cleaning up. There had been a time when Makoto would have sided with her too, Akira thought. When they were all younger and more innocent. It was considered the right thing to do. Once the train itself had been removed from the tracks there was rubble and the damaged building to clean up. None of them were as innocent as they had been in that first year anymore.

“The place _is_ gonna be crawlin’ with cops.” Ryuji huffed, kicking his foot against the floor.

“Exactly. We shouldn’t draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves.”

There were grumbles around the edges of the room from the other Thieves but they eventually had to give in to Makoto’s point. Considering their big target, they didn’t want to do anything that would get them noticed in the future. The long game was for everyone to make it out alive after all.

Akira glanced at Makoto from the corner of his eyes. She looked worn down and hard around the edges. For a moment he wished that she could go back to how she looked before everything, before the debt, before Junya Kaneshiro. All she'd really been worried about was school and getting a good job and getting to the first ring. Now she could smell the stench of decay coming from the very people who she and Haru rubbed elbows with.

Well, she was safer now at least. They both were. When she glanced back over to him, he smiled warmly and gave her a quick thumbs up. Back to their regular lives it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ao3 keeps eating my damn formatting and I can't fix it at work on my phone


End file.
